Sheffield man left with 'locked-in' syndrome after holiday stroke waited two weeks for South Yorkshire hospital bed

Polly Rippon, Night Editor

A Sheffield man who suffered a stroke while on holiday in France had to wait more than two weeks before he was transferred to a hospital near home - because of a lack of beds.

David Collings, from Aston, Sheffield, was taken to hospital in Dieppe, France, following a stroke which left him with locked-in syndrome - a condition in which the patient is totally paralysed but fully conscious.The 59-year-old's family told BBC Radio Sheffield they were told there were no intensive care beds available near his home.He has since been offered a bed at Rotherham District General Hospital.Mr Collings was due to be transferred from France to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon.His wife Carole said he was cleared to fly by doctors on 30 December, following the stroke on December 23, but their insurance company Intana said there were no hospital beds available in the local area.She had to return home on Monday as funding for her to stay in France, made available by insurers, had run out.She added that she, along with her son and two daughters, were experiencing a 'living nightmare'.Mr Collings, from Aston, is a fit and active man who has previously cycled the coast of the UK to raise money for Bluebell Wood Hospice.He has also donated platelets more than 100 times.Mrs Collings said: "We felt that in France he had been treated really well, so then to be hit with 'no there's no bed', day after day, and knowing that I couldn't stay where I was, well... if it wasn't for my daughters I don't know where I would be."A spokesperson from Intana said: "Our aim is to ensure a smooth repatriation to the UK to allow treatment to be continued as close to home as possible."This entails ensuring the availability of an intensive care unit bed for Mr Collings and we have been in daily dialogue with the NHS as well as the Emergency Bed Service on the matter."A spokesman from Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said: "We are preparing to repatriate a gentleman to Rotherham from France."A bed will be available for him at Rotherham Hospital."We will work with him and his family to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible and he receives the care he needs."